Went in for X-Ray, came out with dead cat

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

Some don't use any anesthesia at all. Some will use something like valium to
just get they relaxed. I don't know why they'd use anesthesia to knock her out.
If you like a necropsy by another vet is about $75. You can find out why she
died and what her illness was.

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered)

It seems a little fishy to me also. Perhaps this vet used a different
anesthesia and she had an allergic reaction to it similar to anaphalactic (sp?)
shock. If I take a certain drug, it will kill me if I don't get benadryl and
something else into me quickly. It shuts down heart, lungs instantly. You would
still think the vet would have been there monitoring the anesthesia and could
have administered benadryl instantly. Perhaps he gave your cat the wrong
dosage. I had a vet tech give a baby squirrel 2.5 cc of an antibiotic instead
of .25 . 2.5cc is almost the total fluids in a baby squirrel! You would think
they would notice.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.

That is fishy. Cremation costs $75. Why would they offer this for free if it
wasn't their fault. I would pick the body up for necropsy at another vet. Just
tell them you want to bury her in a cemetary. They will do a liver toxicology
to see if they overdosed her or if it was an allergic reaction. I personally
think it sounds a little like an overdose. An allergic reaction could have been
treated, and overdose isn't as easy to treat. If your vet is at fault, you
won't be able to sue and collect anything so you need to think about what to
do. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I once went through a medical
malpractice with my cat. Such a shock to drop off a pretty healthy cat and get
back a dead one.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

Some don't use any anesthesia at all. Some will use something like valium to
just get they relaxed. I don't know why they'd use anesthesia to knock her out.
If you like a necropsy by another vet is about $75. You can find out why she
died and what her illness was.

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered)

It seems a little fishy to me also. Perhaps this vet used a different
anesthesia and she had an allergic reaction to it similar to anaphalactic (sp?)
shock. If I take a certain drug, it will kill me if I don't get benadryl and
something else into me quickly. It shuts down heart, lungs instantly. You would
still think the vet would have been there monitoring the anesthesia and could
have administered benadryl instantly. Perhaps he gave your cat the wrong
dosage. I had a vet tech give a baby squirrel 2.5 cc of an antibiotic instead
of .25 . 2.5cc is almost the total fluids in a baby squirrel! You would think
they would notice.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.

That is fishy. Cremation costs $75. Why would they offer this for free if it
wasn't their fault. I would pick the body up for necropsy at another vet. Just
tell them you want to bury her in a cemetary. They will do a liver toxicology
to see if they overdosed her or if it was an allergic reaction. I personally
think it sounds a little like an overdose. An allergic reaction could have been
treated, and overdose isn't as easy to treat. If your vet is at fault, you
won't be able to sue and collect anything so you need to think about what to
do. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I once went through a medical
malpractice with my cat. Such a shock to drop off a pretty healthy cat and get
back a dead one.

On 6 Sep 2003 18:21:22 -0700, (scs0) wrote:

Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

That is just awful and you have my deepest sympathy. I, too, had a
cat killed by an incompetent vet when he went in for neutering. He
was an adorable 4 month old ginger cat. I wondered if the vet
delegated the task to an incompetent helper. Will never know. MLB

On 6 Sep 2003 18:21:22 -0700, (scs0) wrote:

Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

That is just awful and you have my deepest sympathy. I, too, had a
cat killed by an incompetent vet when he went in for neutering. He
was an adorable 4 month old ginger cat. I wondered if the vet
delegated the task to an incompetent helper. Will never know. MLB

On 6 Sep 2003 18:21:22 -0700, (scs0) wrote:

Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known. Just the day before I remarked on how she seemed especially
friendly and happy, and that day I even noticed that one of the other
2 cats seemed to actually enjoy her presence (one cat is anti-social,
and the other always seemed indifferent). We had a lengthy discussion
with the breeder and now things just aren't adding up.

- First of all, I've found that it's a little on the extreme side to
inject a cat with anesthesia for the purpose of taking a simple x-ray.
I was told that it's more common to sedate them with an oral
medication. Is this true, or is this a matter of personal preference
at the vet?

- The whole "reaction to the anesthesia" seems fishy. What would a
reaction actually involve? From what we were told they injected her
with the anesthesia then later noticed that she wasn't breathing. If
a reaction was occuring, wouldn't the body begin to spasm, vomit, or
have some sort of other reaction? If the cat calmly just stopped
breathing, wouldn't it be more likely that they gave her too much?
(BTW, she was under once before when the breeder had her neutered) We
are guessing that they were busy, injected enough for a rottweiler,
left her, and then didn't notice she was dead until it was too late.

- We were told by the breeder that antidotes to reactions and
overdoses exist, I'm suspicious as to why none were apparently given
to my cat. He made a big point about putting her on oxygen to revive
her, so I'd assume that if he tried an antidote he would have
mentioned it. He basically repeated everything he said several times
too, and he never mentioned an antidote.

- At the very end the vet said that they'd pay to have her body
cremated. It occurred to me at the time, but I didn't say anything
but it seemed like a perfect way to destroy the evidence if he was
negligent. At the time, I thought that even if he was, what purpose
would it serve to find this out because the cat would still be dead.


It's all very sad. It was fun watching her learn how the world works:
for example when on the screen porch she learned that it's OK to carry
anoles (aka "American Chameleons") in her mouth but not the small
toads because they have a nasty tasting oil on their skins. When
initiating play with the anti-social cat, she used to pounce and chew
on her. Now she learned to approach her in a calm way and tap her
softly with her paws. It's so sad that some damn careless vet put an
end to all of this. It was really strange that morning, a few hours
before she was dead and only a couple hours after she left I really
had this strong sense of missing having her around.

That is just awful and you have my deepest sympathy. I, too, had a
cat killed by an incompetent vet when he went in for neutering. He
was an adorable 4 month old ginger cat. I wondered if the vet
delegated the task to an incompetent helper. Will never know. MLB

(scs0) wrote in message . com...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known.

Get an attorney. These damned doctors think that they're high and
mighty. They probably think they're beyond the law because it was only
a cat. I wonder how many others they've killed.
This cat has only you to fight for her now. Don't let the rouges get
away with it. Get an attorney. That's my advice.



IBen

(scs0) wrote in message . com...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known.

Get an attorney. These damned doctors think that they're high and
mighty. They probably think they're beyond the law because it was only
a cat. I wonder how many others they've killed.
This cat has only you to fight for her now. Don't let the rouges get
away with it. Get an attorney. That's my advice.



IBen

(scs0) wrote in message . com...
Our 10 month old Abyssinian cat was having problems with her right
rear leg. When sitting she wouldn't put her weight on it and would
instead position the other rear leg in the middle to balance herself.
Sometimes when standing on all fours we'd notice the leg quivering
slightly and when stretching her legs she wouldn't stretch that one as
far. An initial exam by hand didn't find anything obvious (broken
bone, tumor etc) so the vet requested an x-ray of the leg. On Friday
morning she was taken in for an x-ray and around noon there was a
message on the machine from the vet. I called back and was told that
she had a reaction to the anesthesia and died! The poor thing was
only 10 months old and had more personality than any cat I've ever
known.

Get an attorney. These damned doctors think that they're high and
mighty. They probably think they're beyond the law because it was only
a cat. I wonder how many others they've killed.
This cat has only you to fight for her now. Don't let the rouges get
away with it. Get an attorney. That's my advice.



IBen

in article , Kuisse0002 at
wrote on 9/7/03 12:15 AM:

I feel terrible for your loss. And yes I am mad at your vet for such
incompetency but how do we get them to pay for their incompetency. By the time
we take them to the courts (and if found "not incompetent") it is still a lose
- lose situation for us pet owners.

I have to take my 1 yr old Norwegien Forest cat to the dentist because one
tooth (left fang) is slowly turning grey and I don't know what pain it is
causing her - if any - because she seems to be eating and sleeping as per
normal But it looks awful that tooth and I should have it checked out. I am
afraid that the Vet will also want to knock her out so that he can "pull" it
out but what if she pays for it with her life!


Kuisse, ask your vet about how they go about anesthesia, what they use and
is a vet tech present. When Grant had to have a bunch of his teeth out, my
vet told me up front exactly how she would do it, drew me a picture of how
they intubate the kitty and why, told me the risks and assured me she
*always* has a trained vet tech on hand. It did a lot to put my mind at ease
that she takes the utmost precautions. I feel very bad for the OP and I must
say I have to wonder too about the xray and anesthesia and what happened.

Karen

in article , Kuisse0002 at
wrote on 9/7/03 12:15 AM:

I feel terrible for your loss. And yes I am mad at your vet for such
incompetency but how do we get them to pay for their incompetency. By the time
we take them to the courts (and if found "not incompetent") it is still a lose
- lose situation for us pet owners.

I have to take my 1 yr old Norwegien Forest cat to the dentist because one
tooth (left fang) is slowly turning grey and I don't know what pain it is
causing her - if any - because she seems to be eating and sleeping as per
normal But it looks awful that tooth and I should have it checked out. I am
afraid that the Vet will also want to knock her out so that he can "pull" it
out but what if she pays for it with her life!


Kuisse, ask your vet about how they go about anesthesia, what they use and
is a vet tech present. When Grant had to have a bunch of his teeth out, my
vet told me up front exactly how she would do it, drew me a picture of how
they intubate the kitty and why, told me the risks and assured me she
*always* has a trained vet tech on hand. It did a lot to put my mind at ease
that she takes the utmost precautions. I feel very bad for the OP and I must
say I have to wonder too about the xray and anesthesia and what happened.

Karen